I am working on a real-life version of the Wikipedia puzzle globe. After redrawing the virtual one that I was sent by the Wikimedia Foundation, I posed it and animated it: I put the Blender files up at GitHub and the animation is up on YouTube.
That's all very well, but I want to hold it in my hands. I created a 3D printable version and put it up on GitHub, but never got around to testing it. Then I got an email out of the blue from someone at Lumileds who printed it out in 3D as a gift for a colleague:
Apparently it worked as a 3D puzzle, but the letters were so slightly embossed that they were scarcely visible, and one tile was missing from my file. In this case it wasn't really a problem, because it was on the bottom of the globe, so it made a suitable opening for the LED lamp.
This success motivated me to fix those problems and also create two indented versions (done!), and the itch grew to get my own physical copy.
So I uploaded my model to Shapeways and ordered a copy in "transparent acrylic". It was quite expensive - about €60, but what's life without a few luxuries?
So what does this have to do with Silicone casting? Well, my plan is to make copies of the model once I get it, so I ordered some silicone resin from Amazon and bought some fibreglass resin from my local hardware shop, and while waiting for the model to arrive, I started experimenting with casting:
So far I've had 100% success: I have successfully made a mould of my bike lock's key.
Finished product first:
The mould itself:
I'm quite happy with the results. The detail is good, and the rubber is easy to mix and pour. The resin I bought is probably great for automotive repair jobs, but it's really not a casting resin, so I'll probably have to find a proper casting material.
In preparation for moulding puzzle pieces, I decided to try my luck with a €1 coin. Success!
I first pressed a lump of wondergom into a cardboard mould box, and put the coin on top. I then cast the silicone on top of the coin. After it had set, I turned it around and removed the putty, applied vaseline as a release agent, and cast the other side of the mould. When the second half had set, I used a razor to cut a slot to allow excess resin to escape (on the right-hand side of the bottom half of the mould - on the left in the picture). To make my casting, I mixed some resin, poured it into the bottom half of the mould, and then put the top half on, letting the excess run out. After 30 minutes, my coin was done, with a thin rod sticking out where the relief vent was, and a thin veil of resin surrounding it. I could remove both of these quite easily with my fingernails.
The casting doesn't seem to have shrunk or swollen - it fits exactly onto the coin, so now I'm much more confident in my ability to duplicate my Wikipedia globe when it arrives.
That's all very well, but I want to hold it in my hands. I created a 3D printable version and put it up on GitHub, but never got around to testing it. Then I got an email out of the blue from someone at Lumileds who printed it out in 3D as a gift for a colleague:
Apparently it worked as a 3D puzzle, but the letters were so slightly embossed that they were scarcely visible, and one tile was missing from my file. In this case it wasn't really a problem, because it was on the bottom of the globe, so it made a suitable opening for the LED lamp.
This success motivated me to fix those problems and also create two indented versions (done!), and the itch grew to get my own physical copy.
So I uploaded my model to Shapeways and ordered a copy in "transparent acrylic". It was quite expensive - about €60, but what's life without a few luxuries?
So what does this have to do with Silicone casting? Well, my plan is to make copies of the model once I get it, so I ordered some silicone resin from Amazon and bought some fibreglass resin from my local hardware shop, and while waiting for the model to arrive, I started experimenting with casting:
So far I've had 100% success: I have successfully made a mould of my bike lock's key.
Finished product first:
The mould itself:
The view down the keyhole:
I'm quite happy with the results. The detail is good, and the rubber is easy to mix and pour. The resin I bought is probably great for automotive repair jobs, but it's really not a casting resin, so I'll probably have to find a proper casting material.
Update: in which I enter the business of counterfeiting.
In preparation for moulding puzzle pieces, I decided to try my luck with a €1 coin. Success!
I first pressed a lump of wondergom into a cardboard mould box, and put the coin on top. I then cast the silicone on top of the coin. After it had set, I turned it around and removed the putty, applied vaseline as a release agent, and cast the other side of the mould. When the second half had set, I used a razor to cut a slot to allow excess resin to escape (on the right-hand side of the bottom half of the mould - on the left in the picture). To make my casting, I mixed some resin, poured it into the bottom half of the mould, and then put the top half on, letting the excess run out. After 30 minutes, my coin was done, with a thin rod sticking out where the relief vent was, and a thin veil of resin surrounding it. I could remove both of these quite easily with my fingernails.
The casting doesn't seem to have shrunk or swollen - it fits exactly onto the coin, so now I'm much more confident in my ability to duplicate my Wikipedia globe when it arrives.
Does the key work in your bike lock? This would be a great way to copy a spare house key in case you were to lock yourself out.
ReplyDeleteIt's much too flimsy, because I cast it in fibreglass resin. The silicone is rated for pewter casting, though, and might even survive a bronze casting, so it would be feasible.
ReplyDeleteI've seen tutorials online where they do make duplicate keys this way. One thing I've seen is that for metal casting you need to dust the cast with talcum powder to avoid surface imperfections, and you might need to bake the mould at low heat for a few hours to remove volatiles.